The present invention relates to a roller assembly for use in applying a coating to a surface, and, more particularly, to a paint roller frame and roller support assembly that allows easy installation of a roller cover onto the roller support, securely retains the roller cover on the roller support during painting, and permits convenient and minimally messy removal of the roller cover from the roller support following use.
Paint rollers with removable covers are well known. Normally a roller cover is installed on a roller support such that the roller cover can be removed from the roller support and cleaned or discarded after use. Paint rollers with mechanisms designed to releasably retain a roller cover on the roller support are known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,345,648 and 5,490,303 to Graves. Roller frames and support assemblies of this type utilize a plurality of small, flexible metal fingers that are deflected radially inward as a roller cover is installed. The metal fingers press outward against the inner surface of the roller cover, thus holding the cover in place during use. The roller cover is removed from the support assembly by grasping it and pulling it axially off of the support assembly. Alternatively, the roller cover may be removed from the support assembly by striking roller frame on a solid object, causing the roller cover to slide off of the support assembly. Both of these methods for removing the roller cover are undesirable because they are potentially messy for the user. U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,365 discloses a similar paint roller which utilizes the same undesirable methods for removing the roller cover.
Other known roller cover retention devices include spring-biased tabs that are manually retracted by depressing a button on the roller handle. These designs are significantly disadvantageous because the tabs must be retracted prior to installing a roller cover. Some consumers find this counterintuitive and their attempts to install a roller cover without properly retracting the tabs may result in dissatisfaction with or damage to the device. Additionally, the button mechanism may require the user to apply a substantial amount of force to overcome the biasing force of the springs which extend the tabs. This makes the device less consumer-friendly, particularly for those with smaller hands or limited grip strength. Some roller cover retention devices incorporating flexible fingers suffer from similar disadvantages. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,555 disclosing a roller cover retention device including flexible fingers that requires the user to move and hold a metal lever to overcome a biasing spring force to permit installation or removal of a roller cover.
All of the previously described paint rollers are designed to accommodate standard paint roller covers, meaning that many manufacturers produce roller frames and roller covers to the same general specifications such that the frames and covers are generally interchangeable among manufacturers. Other devices utilize non-standard paint roller covers. See, e.g., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0130261. These devices are inherently disadvantageous because they do not permit the use of widely-available and inexpensive standard roller covers.
Based on the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a paint roller assembly using standard roller covers that allows easy installation of the roller cover, securely retains the roller cover during painting, and permits convenient and minimally messy removal of the roller cover following use.